Beautiful Serpent
by babyckaes
Summary: Someone has a crush on Harry Potter. But will he give her a chance while Cho Chang is around? Especially when SHE's a Slytherine. What will Draco say about all this if he's inlove with the girl who's inlove with Harry. Bad summary, but great story. Promis
1. Default Chapter

Tatiana Janacek dragged her large heavy trunk along the train corridor pausing at every compartment to see where her cousin, Luna Lovegood was. Anya, as she preferred to be called, knows that Luna was some sort of a loner and so she has a good chance of catching her alone. They didn't see each other over the summer holidays and today was the first time they were to meet in two months. They've exchanged regular owls but it wasn't the same as talking face to face.  
Their mothers were sisters. Unfortunately, Anya's mother died when she was born, while her aunt died a few years back. The cousins are both fourteen and an only child. That is why, regardless of how different the cousins seem to be, they are as close as sisters. They understood each other best.  
When Anya reached the last compartment, she was sure Luna was there.  
  
"Luna!" she called cheerfully sliding the compartment door open. She took a step back in surprise. Luna was there all right, but she wasn't alone. She was with Ginny Weasley, a girl in their year and a boy Anya didn't know, but she was pretty sure he was from Gryffindor. Harry Potter was also in the compartment.  
  
Anya only knew him by name and reputation and she has seen him around school before but never this close. Her heart gave an unexpected thud when she looked at him.  
  
"Anya!" said Luna, lowering her upside down magazine. "Come in, don't mind them. Take a seat."  
  
Anya flashed her a smile. She had wanted to be alone with Luna, she stole a glance at Harry Potter again, but she reckoned the present situation wasn't that bad at all.  
  
"We'll help you with that." said Harry Potter. He stood up, along with the other boy, and placed her trunk and her great gray owl, Lancelot's cage in the luggage rack.  
  
"Oh, thanks." said Anya quietly. It's only now, standing close to him, that Anya notice how vividly green Harry's eyes were. She took a seat beside Ginny, flashing her a tiny smile.  
  
"Hi, I'm Ginny." Ginny told her with a smile.  
  
Anya looked at her blankly. She and Ginny weren't friends but they have Potions and Herbology together, they definitely knew each other and even talk occasionally. She was surprised Ginny didn't remember her.  
  
"That's Anya" Luna told Ginny saving Anya the need to reply. "Anya, that's Neville Longbottom," Luna gestured to the other boy. He gave a cheery smile at Anya, which she returned. "And I'm sure you know Harry Potter."  
  
Anya looked at him; he was now looking at her too, grinning politely. She could feel her cheeks burning up. She tried to flash him a friendly smile but her lips refused to respond and they just twisted awkwardly.  
  
She has read about him in the Daily Prophet, not that she believed any of it. Her dad, who worked at the ministry, has fallen victim to Rita Skeeter as well.  
As for the return of You-Know-Who issue, Anya's father doesn't believe it. But Anya's father was also blindly loyal to Cornelius Fudge.  
Her uncle, Luna's father, on the other hand trusted Dumbledore. Due to this difference in opinion, their fathers had a major falling out and Anya's father forbade her to visit the Lovegood's over the summer.  
Everything was all very confusing that Anya just refused to make up her mind until further developments. If he really has returned, then they will all know very soon or else Harry Potter was just loosing his mind. But Anya felt that he didn't come across as a liar or a nut at all.  
The lunch trolley arrived and they all bought pumpkin pasties and other sweets. After eating, Harry, Neville and Ginny started trading chocolate frogs while Luna and Anya conversed in hushed tones about their summer vacation.  
The compartment door slid open and Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, two of Harry's friends whom Anya also knew by name came in, accompanied by a large cat and a small, noisy owl.  
Ginny introduced Anya to both of them. They smiled at her politely before taking their seats, Ron between Harry and Neville, while Hermione squeezed herself in the seat with Ginny, Luna and Anya.  
  
"Well, there are two fifth-year prefects from each house," said Hermione in a sort of domineering voice. "Boy and girl from each."  
  
"And guess who's a Slytherin prefect?" said Ron.  
  
"Malfoy," replied Harry, sounding certain.  
  
"Course," said Ron bitterly, stuffing the rest of the Frog into his mouth and taking another.  
  
"And that complete cow Pansy Parkinson," said Hermione viciously. "How she got to be a prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll . . ."  
  
Anya bit back her smile. She may be from Slytherin too but that doesn't mean she doesn't agree with Hermione. They continued to talk but Anya was no longer listening. She suddenly felt ill at ease. She was aware that Gryffindors has always clashed with Slytherins. She was certain that they had no idea she was from Slytherin which was good because she wasn't sure how they would react to her if they knew. Everybody in Slytherin is highly competitive, even more so with people from Gryffindor. Personally, she doesn't hate anybody from Gryffindor but she knew lots of people from her house who do, for no other reason other than they were from Gryffindor. Anya was shocked right out of her reverie when everyone laughed. She looked at her cousin with a raised brow. Luna was laughing so hard that even the cat and the owls were disturbed. She laughed so hard her magazine fell to the floor.  
  
"That was funny!"  
  
Anya looked at Luna with utter amazement. She was aware that her cousin was not quite normal but she never ceases to surprise even Anya, who thought she was used to Luna's weirdness.  
  
"Are you taking the mickey?" said Ron, frowning at Luna.  
  
"Baboon's . . . backside!" she choked, holding her ribs.  
  
Anya spaced out for the second time that afternoon distracted by the lush scenery. She was surprised to hear the compartment door sliding open again. She saw Draco Malfoy standing in between Crabbe and Goyle. He didn't see her though; he was looking at Harry, smirking. Anya tried to make herself small and hide behind Ginny. Anya's father was a big fan of Lucius Malfoy and Draco was one of the few boys he approved for her. Anya, on the other hand felt that Draco was.well.mean, not to her, but to other people. She didn't like him at all.  
  
"What?" said Harry sounding hostile before Malfoy could say anything.  
  
"Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention," drawled Malfoy in a tone he has never used with Anya. "You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."  
  
"Yeah," said Harry, "but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone."  
  
Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville laughed. Malfoy's lip curled. The whole scene was getting too uncomfortable for Anya. She wished they would just leave before they notice her.  
  
"Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?" Draco asked.  
  
"Shut up, Malfoy," said Hermione harshly.  
  
"I seem to have touched a nerve," said Malfoy, sneering. "Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I'll be dogging your footsteps in case you step out of line."  
  
"Get out!" said Hermione, standing up.  
  
Smirking, Malfoy gave Harry a last malicious look and was about to depart when he spotted Anya.  
  
"Tatiana, what are you doing here?" he asked her in an uncharacteristic tender voice, which caused Ginny and Ron to look at each other quizzically.  
  
"Uh." Anya began her cheeks burning up for the second time, aware that every eye in the compartment was looking at her. "Everyone else was full." she reasoned lamely.  
  
"Ours isn't" said Draco. "Come with us then."  
  
Anya remained seated stubbornly. "Actually, I wanted to sit with Luna."  
  
Draco finally noticed Luna, whom he regarded with scorn. He knew that Luna was her cousin and that her Anya's dad no longer approved for her to be hang around her Luna.  
  
"Not when she's hanging out with these scum." he said pompously. He motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to take Anya's trunk and owl while he held the compartment door open for her.  
  
As much as Anya wanted to remain, she didn't want to cause trouble and so she reluctantly got up from her seat. Satisfied that she was leaving with him, Malfoy went on ahead. Before stepping out of the compartment she glanced back at them now flushed furiously and looking embarrassed and apologetic. She wanted to say something but she didn't know what, so she just shrugged her shoulders and mumbled a soft 'goodbye'. Luna let out a frustrated sigh and started shaking her head. She had thought that once the summer was over and they were back at Hogwarts, everything would be back to normal with her cousin given that her idiot uncle would no longer be able to stand guard over Anya and keep her away from Luna. She should've known it wasn't going to be that easy. Her uncle probably relinquished his guard duties over Anya to Draco Malfoy; no doubt he'd inform him if Anya spent too much time with her. And then Anya would get in trouble with her father.  
  
"Tatiana? She's Tatiana Janacek!" said Ginny, turning to her. "Why did you tell us her name was Anya?"  
  
"It is." Luna answered. "It's her nickname."  
  
"You know her, Ginny?" asked Ron  
  
"Yeah, I had a few classes with her last year." said Ginny. "She's from Slytheirn."  
  
"Really?" Neville said in disbelief. "She seemed nice enough."  
  
"She's very nice!" Luna said indignantly, in defence of her cousin. "Where does it say that they pick only evil ones for Slytherin? She's also very smart and she should've been in Ravenclaw."  
  
"I didn't recognize her at all." Ginny said in amazement.  
  
"It's called puberty." Luna informed her. "She was just a late bloomer."  
  
It was true. Last year when Anya had been thirteen she looked more like eleven. Even Luna was slightly astonished by the considerable changes in Anya's appearance after not seeing her for two months. She was much taller; she was probably even taller than Luna now. It also appears as though she gained weight, in all the right places.  
  
"Is she Malfoy's girlfriend, then?" asked Neville, curiously.  
  
"Not if it's up to her," Luna said with a laugh. "But her father is really keen on pairing her up with him. The Malfoy's are rich and powerfull purebloods, after all. I wouldn't be surprised if he had already started making arrangements for their wedding"  
  
"She too nice for him!" Ginny declared.  
  
"She's nice? Even for a Slytherin?" asked Ron, his mouth full of chocolate frogs.  
  
"You wouldn't even think she was a Slytherin." said Ginny  
  
"Yeah," said Harry, their conversation momentarily distracting him from worrying about Sirius. "I reckon she was quite nice." His thoughts drifted back to Anya, the pretty brown haired girl with large blue eyes that reminded him of someone, he just couldn't recall who. The memory of her bashful, blushing face almost made Harry smile, but not quite. She was pleasant, polite and friendly to all of them, never, in any time for the past hour did Harry suspect that she might be from Slytherin. It wasn't surprising, given that he found every Slytherin he has ever encountered foul and evil. Anya was the first one he didn't feel the urge to hex. He thought she was from Ravenclaw, like Luna and he even wondered why he has never noticed her in school before. She was stunningly pretty and very hard to miss. He remembered how Malfoy's voice and face had softened when he was talking to her. He distinctly got the feeling the Anya is to Malfoy, what Cho is to him. She's definitely too nice for him. He couldn't imagine how someone like her could stand to even be near Malfoy. 


	2. green eyes

"Tatiana!"  
  
Anya heard her name being called the moment she walked into the great hall with Draco and his friends, Crabbe and Goyle. She was forced to sit with them in their compartment for the remainder of their journey and also in the horseless carriage. She has had enough of Draco's narcissism and Crabbe and Goyle's stupid ass kissing. She needed to get away, fast.  
  
"I'll be joining my friends, now." Anya told Draco, gesturing to a group of girls waving for her to join them. She walked briskly along the length of the Slytherin table not even waiting for Draco's reply.  
  
"Hello, Ingrid!" Tatiana beamed sitting beside a rather plump blonde girl. "You hardly wrote over the summer, Paulina." she added, a little reproachfully to a tall, thin girl with curly auburn hair that was seated on her other side. She was considerably pretty, in a haughty sort of way.  
Paulina opened her mouth to reply but another girl seated across them interrupted her.  
  
"Were you with Draco Malfoy the whole time in Howarts express?" a coldly beautiful girl asked her with a slight trace of jealousy in her voice. "Is that why you didn't join us in our compartment?" She flipped her long, corn silk hair over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing into gray slits as she waited for Anya to reply.  
  
"Hello, Letitia." Anya said tensely.  
  
Anya and Letitia Lothaire shared lots of common friends and they even shared a dormitory. Because of the circumstances, they were almost always together but they're not chummy with each other. Most of the time, Anya thought she was tolerable enough, but not when she gets into these sulky moods, like the one she was in now. It usually happens when Draco Malfoy is around. Letitia has had a major crush on Draco for ages. He, on the other hand barely acknowledges her existence, he was too caught up with Anya to notice other girls. Another reason for Letitia to envy and ultimately dislike Anya, who was also the top student in their year while Letitia was only the fifth, after two Ravenclaw boys and a Hufflepuff girl.  
  
"You're lucky, Tatiana." the girl beside Letitia gushed dreamily while craning her neck to get a better look at Draco. "Draco's a fifth year, not to mention handsome. I also hear that his mother really likes you and even invited you to vacation with them to Morocco over the summer."  
  
"Shut it, Carmen!" Letitia snapped at the brown haired girl.  
  
Carmen mumbled something sulkily and turned away from them. Thankfully, Paulina engaged Letitia in a conversation and she seemed to have forgotten about her question.  
Ingrid started telling her about getting a new owl she bought over the holidays while Anya's eyes restlessly wandered around the great hall. Through the gap between Letitia and Carmen, she caught a glimpse of Harry seated in the Gryffindor table across the hall. He was beside Padma Patil's twin sister whom Anya has never spoken to, although Padma was an acquaintance. A wave of irritation poured over Anya towards the pretty girl she didn't know. Anya remembered that the girl even went to the Yule ball with Harry last year. Paulina told her, because she herself wasn't there. She went to Switzerland, instead with her father. Draco did invite her though, but as Anya left, he ended up with Pansy Parkinson.  
  
"Tatiana! Are you even listening?" Ingrid demanded. "Who are you looking at?"  
  
Anya dragged her eyes away from Harry's now smiling to face. She turned to Ingrid; forcing herself to listen to another anecdote she was telling her. With resolve, she was determined to push further thoughts of Harry Potter out of her head, at least until tonight when everyone else is asleep and there's nobody to notice.  
  
"You know, my parents seriously considered not sending me back to Hogwarts this year." Letitia Lothaire confessed to them once they were back in their dormitory. "But they eventually changed their mind."  
  
"I wish they hadn't." Anya mumbled, the silk nightgown she pulled over her head muffling her voice so nobody heard her. She has had it with every one of them being so bitchy.  
  
All through the start-of-term feast, Letitia, Carmen, Paulina and even Ingrid have not stop talking about how Dumbledore is getting senile and how attention-hungry Harry Potter is. Anya happened to like Dumbledore. Her father holds a high position in the ministry and she has seen Dumbledore in ministry gatherings her whole life. He always seemed like a kindly old grandfatherly type to Anya. And no matter what, she just couldn't believe that Harry Potter was as foul as they say. She doubts that he likes all the attention he gets for being who he is. Normally, she would've loved to reply angrily to Letitia's mean gossiping and shut her up, but they were in the Slytherin table and most of the Slytherin thought along the lines with Letitia. Knowing her, she'd rally all of them against Anya and call her a muggle-lover, like 'that-old-fool' Dumbledore. That's what she said to her that last year when they had a major row because of Anya's defense of Dumbledore.  
  
"Harry Potter shouldn't have been allowed back." said Carmen, flopping onto her large four poster bed. "He conjured up all this trouble just to get noticed. But he's always been Dumbledore's favorite."  
  
"The Ministry should've gotten involved." Paulina said changing into her pajamas.  
  
"They have." Anya said tonelessly, finally joining in the conversation. "That's why my father allowed me to back, otherwise, he would've sent me to Beauxbatons."  
  
"Oh, yes," Ingrid said, her face dawning in comprehension. "Your Auntie Delores works for the Ministry, right? They sent her here!"`  
  
"She's not really my aunt." Anya informed her, shuddering. "She just instructed me to call her that to get in good graces with my father."  
  
"Beauxbatons?" Letitia said with disdain. "Ran by the half-breed? I would much rather go to Durmstrang."  
  
"Ran by the Death Eater?" Anya retorted harshly.  
  
She has a distant cousin who goes to Beauxbatons and he has nothing but praise for Madame Maxime, despite her ambiguous parentage. Anya also thought that Hagrid was really cool and it really irks her when people refer to him as a 'half-breed'. They were fools for doing that, every single one of them. And Letitia is the biggest fool of all. Carmen gaped at Anya and turned to Letita, waiting for her reaction. Ingrid coughed uncomfortably, knowing that a quarrel was inevitable.  
  
Letitia's cold gray eyes narrowed once more as they usually do when she's mad. "Next time, try saying something like that in the common room."  
  
Anya stared at her silently. No one ever speaks of it but all of them are aware that there are students among their house with Death Eaters for parents.  
  
"Tatiana," Paulina began with false cheerfulness to ward of the hostility looming over them. "Draco was ever so sweet to walk you to our dormitory, don't you think so?"  
  
Anya shrugged her shoulders while watching Letita out of the corner of her eye. Her face turned sour at what Paulina said. She got into bed and pulled the green drapes close without another word. Anya smirked with pleasure despite herself. She may not like Draco but she likes how his attention to her bothers Letitia.  
  
"Next Hogsmead weekend I'll no longer allow you to use me as an excuse not to go with him." Ingrid whispered to her so Carmen and Letitia wouldn't overhear. "That is if he even asks you again."  
  
"I don't understand why you're not jumping for joy over the fact the he likes you." Paulina told her a little more loudly.  
  
Carmen stopped in the act of brushing her long hair and turned to Paulina. "I saw some sixth year boys ogling at her when she passed the common room. Maybe she's hoping to snag somebody older."  
  
"Just remember Tatiana," Carmen said rather tactlessly. "When you were still scrawny and ugly Draco already fancied you."  
  
Anya stared at her, unsure on how to react. Ingrid and Paulina muffled their giggles in their pillows.  
  
"And I can't imagine why." Paulina agreed flashing a sheepish, apologetic grin at Anya. "He must have a Seer's blood."  
  
They all burst laughing, holding on to the bedposts to keep from keeling over. Anya shot them a look that would've been formidable if only her eyes weren't watering with mirth.  
  
"Sweet Dreams, girls." She called, climbing over her own bed and closing the drapes. She could still hear Paulina and Carmen chatting an hour later while she lay in bed wide-awake fantasizing about a pair of smiling vivid green eyes looking into her own. 


	3. Letter From Home

Anya instinctively looked up to the enchanted ceiling when she heard owls flying into the Great Hall the next morning. She spotted Copernicus, her father's handsome eagle owl or rather it spotted her. He soared downward and landed with a soft thud on the table right in front of Anya's bowl of cereal.  
  
"Hey there," Anya murmured, stroking the owl's soft feathers. "What have you got for me?"  
  
Another owl, a screech this time, swooped downward and almost landed on top of Copernicus, who was hooted angrily.  
  
"Virgil!" She gasped, recognizing their house owl.  
  
He had a small package with him. It was probably her usual ration of sweets and treats, prepared by their house-elf Delilah. She took the package from Virgil without opening it, she was much more curious about what her father had personally sent her. She pried a sealed parchment off Copernicus' leg and tore it open.  
  
Dear Anya,  
I have not received an owl from you even if I specifically  
instructed  
you to send one as soon as you get there. Since I haven't received any  
owls from Dumbledore telling me otherwise, I assume you're fine  
  
Anya rolled her eyes at the letter. She had just sent an owl to her father before coming down for breakfast, typical of him to be so impatient.  
  
The house is quiet and peaceful without the usual racket and minor  
explosions you love to create. It's also quite sad. I will count the days  
'till Christmas, when you will finally come home.  
  
Anya felt her throat constrict painfully, she always felt a bit guilty every start of term, for leaving her father all alone in a big house with only Delilah for company.  
  
Enough about that, I've heard from your godfather that Delores  
Umbridge took over as your new Defense Against Dark Arts professor.  
I admit, she would not have been my first choice if it were up to me;  
nonetheless, I can sleep better at night knowing that there is someone  
from the ministry in Hogwarts.  
And Anya, I know how fond you and Luna are with each other and I  
know you abhorred it that I didn't let you go with her and your Uncle  
to another expedition to find nonexistent animals. Anya, I beg you, stay  
away from her for the meantime and from anyone else who poses the same  
threat. I doubt you will find any from, Slytherin, your own house.  
These are difficult times, Anya. We must rally behind the minister, he is  
your godfather after all and a great friend of mine. I have nothing but  
great respect for Dumbledore, as I know you do too. But he has always  
been soft where Harry Potter is concerned, as Lucius Malfoy told us.  
I trust his son, Draco, will keep an eye out for you over there. Nice boy,  
that one is. Take care, then.  
  
Love,  
Father  
  
Anya crumpled the parchment in irritation. The nice thoughts she had of her father momentarily vanished as she remembered those long summer days she was forced to spend with the horrid Draco and his equally horrid family. Just thinking about them made Anya's skin crawl. It's frustrating to think that her father cannot see through them.  
Lucius Malfoy is just vile. If she thought the things Harry Potter said were unbelievable, Lucius Malfoy being a Death Eater was not one of them, he was definitely wicked enough. As for Draco, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Aunt Narcissa on the other hand was very disturbing. She actually heard her humming the wedding march after she left Anya and Draco alone in a room.  
She wondered why her father liked them. True, Lucius Malfoy was nothing but generous and polite to them but Anya was sure he was just faking it, just look at how he treats the people he deemed inferior to himself?  
Unfortunately, both Malfoy and her father came from Slytherin in their Hogwarts days and were big believers of keeping their bloodline pure. But unlike Malfoy, her father was never unpleasant to Muggle-borns or Muggles. He just prefers that Anya never marry one or the other. As one would expect, his job, after all has enabled him to encounter the worst of Muggles and they do not appear to be a very impressive lot to him.  
  
"Tatiana, dear," A ridiculously girly voice purred behind Anya.  
  
She jumped on her seat and turned around in surprise. It was none other than the Umbridge woman.  
  
"Is that a letter from you father you're holding? Hem, hem; the Minister of Muggle Relations?"  
  
Anya glanced at the parchment she clutched in her hand and then to 'Auntie Delores'. She was aware of her father's position, why is she telling her?  
  
"Yes. This is a letter from my father."  
  
"Ooh," she said giggling. "I recognized his owl. You tell him now not to worry 'Auntie Delores' will take good care of his precious Tatiana."  
  
"I'll tell him that." Anya said, trying very hard not to barf at her phony syrupiness. Eww, she thought to herself.  
  
Umbridge walked back to the staff table and Anya went back to staring at the entrance of the Great Hall, waiting. Ingrid walked in, looking bouncy. Finally awake, are we? Anya mumbled slightly disappointed. She woke up extra early, hoping to run into either Luna or Harry without having to worry about the other Slytherins. She wanted to finally talk to Luna. And she had hoped to stare at Harry for a while and maybe watch him eat. Apparently, both Luna and Harry aren't early risers. The great hall was still almost deserted and it was getting too lonely eating alone. Ingrid's company will do. Ingrid saw her and increased her pace towards Anya, her face broadening into a furtive smile. Anya soon discovered why, right behind her was Draco and Letitia. They seemed to be caught up in an animated conversation but when Draco spotted Anya, he held up his hand for Letitia to stop talking. His face broke into one of his trademark half-smiles/half-smirks. And Anya, despite her deep dislike, couldn't help but think he looked really cute, in a conceited jerk kind of way. It was undeniably time for her to go. She took one last swig of her pumpkin juice and got up.  
  
"Tatiana, where are you off to?" Draco asked, looking slightly miffed, "Are you done eating?"  
  
"I just remembered," Anya said, suddenly inspired. "My father asked me to send him an owl as soon as possible. You know how he is."  
  
"Wait a minute Miss Janacek." Anya turned around at the familiar voice of Professor Snape. "Your timetable."  
  
Anya mumbled her thanks and inspected it as she walked back to the dormitories. She had double Potions with Gryffindor this morning and Arithmancy and Muggle Studies in the afternoon. Anya shrugged her shoulders unconcerned. Potions was easily her best subject, along with Charms and Defense Against Dark Arts. Too bad it was only during Professor Lupin's time that they had yearend exams. Arithmancy was a bit more difficult but Anya found it interesting. Muggle Studies, she took because it gave her something to talk about with her father. Binns and Umbridge right after each other on Tuesday? Anya thought miserably. At least she had Care of Magical Creatures in the afternoon, again with Gryffindor; Herbology as well, this time with Ravenclaw. Luna! She though, smiling. Sadly Harry Potter wasn't in her year. She would've had two classes with him. Maybe she can take advance classes in Potions or Charms, she was sure good enough. Professor Flitwick even told her that the only one who's as good as her was Hermione Granger, the top student in the fifth year. Anya was surprising even herself with her Harry Potter obsession. She had no idea where it came from, and she had to admit, it was a bit pathetic. Anya had never had a crush with this magnitude before. She has found other guys good-looking in the past, lots of them, like Oliver Wood, Roger Davies, Michael Corner, Dean Thomas and even Draco Malfoy. But she has never had the urge to be a stalker, like the urge she has with Harry Potter now. "What is it you've got, Harry Potter?" Anya whispered vaguely. She gave out a little laugh when the answer hit her. As far as she was aware, the only thing Harry's got that none of the other boys do was a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. 


	4. Anya's Wizard Wheezes

Anya stopped dead in her tracks in front of an open classroom. She was on her way to the Great Hall for lunch but she couldn't resist eavesdropping on the voices coming from the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom.  
  
"I shall have to confiscate these." said a girly voice which was unmistakably Umbridge.  
  
"You can't! We haven't done anything wrong." argued an unfamiliar male voice.  
  
"Oh I can't, can't I?" Umbridge answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You don't seem to realize, Mr. Weasley, there's hardly anything I can't do in this school. And I say that carrying a supply of.these around is wrong!"  
  
Anya rolled her eyes in revulsion. Umbridge would never dream of speaking to her that way, or to Draco Malfoy and some of the other students, simply because of their influential families. No doubt she doesn't think that the family of the poor kid she's bullying is that prominent.  
Anya wished there was something she could do. Her forehead wrinkled in a frown. Maybe there is something she can do!  
She rapped her knuckles on the open door and steeped inside. Umbridge frowned at the intrusion but smiled brightly when she saw whom it was. The kid Umbridge was scolding didn't turn out to be a kid after all. He was a seventh year Gryffindor and he was looking at Anya blankly. There was two of him too.  
Anya realized who they were, the Weasley twins, superb beaters, they were.  
  
"Proffesor Umbridge." Anya began, looking around the room frantically. "I left.that in class this morning." She pointed to a small box sitting on her table. She assumed it was what she was about to confiscate from the Weasley twins.  
  
"Oh," Umbridge said looking disappointed. "Is it yours? I saw Mr. Weasley holding it and he refused to hand it over when I asked for it."  
  
"They were probably planning to return it to me." Anya said walking up to her table. "May I take it now?"  
  
"Of course, you may, dear." said Umbridge with a smile. "And, Tatiana, while we're not in class, you may call me Auntie Delores."  
  
Anya forced a smile at Umbridge and turned to leave. She caught the eye of the Weasley twins who were looking at her with suspicious expressions. She lingered outside the door for a while to listen to them.  
  
"Hem, hem. Well then," Umbridge began, "ten points from Gryffindor because you didn't tell me sooner." It sounded as if they were about to argue but decided against it. Anya knew they were about to leave so she ran around the corner to distance herself from Umbridge's classroom. The Weasley twins walked right pass her their heads bent and deep in conversation.  
  
"Hey," Anya called after them. "Aren't you going to get this back?"  
  
They twirled around so fast to face her. For a few seconds they just stared at her, and then they turned to each other. One of them looked back at Anya, openly suspicious.  
  
"Here, take it." When they still didn't make a move, Anya walked up to them with the box in her outstretched arms.  
  
One of them took it from her skeptically. "Why did you.do what you just did?"  
  
Anya shrugged her shoulders with nonchalance. "Because whatever that is, Umbridge never would have confiscated it if she knew it was mine."  
  
"You mean Auntie Delores don't you?" the other twin bit back.  
  
Anya gave them a disgusted look, which made the twins laugh.  
  
"Thanks for what you did, back there." One of them said, finally smiling at her.  
  
"It's nothing." Anya assured them, she was about to turn away when.  
  
"I'm George by the way. George Weasley. This is Fred." They shook Anya's hand gratefully. Whatever was in the box, it must've been important to them.  
  
"I'm Anya." she said with a friendly smile. "I know your sister Ginny and your brother Ron was introduced to me once."  
  
Fred must've sensed her curiosity about the box because he opened it for Anya to see. Inside was an assortment of delicious looking sweets. Anya's stomach churned, she was suddenly feeling so hungry.  
  
"I'd offer you one for what you did but you wouldn't want them." Fred told her, grinning. Anya was about to argue, she was sure she'd want one of those candies.  
  
"They're not ordinary candies. They're for our joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Whezzes. This here is a Ton Tongue Toffee." George added.  
  
"Oh, then I'm glad I didn't try to nick one." Anya admitted smiling. All three of them started walking to the Great Hall together.  
  
"Tell you what," said Fred when they got to the entrance. "When we have our shop set up, we'll give you a discount, whatever you want."  
  
"Thanks," Anya said, flashing him a sincere smile. "I will hold you to that." With that, they walked their separate ways, the twins, to the Gryffindor table and Anya, to the Slytherins.  
  
Anya buried her face in her book, trying to drown out the voices of the people around her. Why did I ever agree to this? Anya thought miserably. Draco cornered her when she was sitting alone in the common room, reading. He asked her to come to the Quidditch field with him. Anya was already thinking of an excuse in her head when she realized that Draco could only take so much rejection before he writes to Anya's father to inform him that Anya was too busy to spend time with him but not with Luna. Anya already declined to eat with him during mealtimes, take walks around the school and study together, lots of times. At leas they will not be alone in the Quidditch field. Aside from Crabbe and Goyle, Pansy appears to be joining them along with the whole Slytherin Quidditch team. And so, with great difficulty, Anya joined them, bringing her book with her. At first she thought they were just going to be sitting on the stands to enjoy the cool September winds. She never would've agreed to come if she knew they were going to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch team, practice. As much as she would've enjoyed seeing Harry Potter in action, being with a particular gang of Slytherin he happens to detest, puts Anya in a bad light. She gritted her teeth furiously as she listened to the other Slytherins who shouted insults at the Gryffindors. Anya wanted so much to tell them to shut the hell up. The thing is, they weren't a bunch of fourth years. Most of them were sixth and seventh years who also happened to be as big as gorillas. And then there's Draco, who'd rat her out to her father. Anya had begged her father so much to let her go back to Hogwarts; she won't let Draco ruin it for her.  
  
"I'll be going back." she muttered to Draco, who was sitting beside her.  
  
He glanced back at her with a worried frown. "Is everything all right?"  
  
"Yeah, I just can't stand the people here." Anya answered.  
  
Draco smirked in understanding and glanced at the Gryffindors hovering above. Anya didn't bother to correct him that they were not the people she can't stand.  
  
"Goyle, go with her!" he barked.  
  
"You have got to be kidding me!" Anya snapped, momentarily losing control. Draco raised a single eyebrow at her in silent reprimand. "I mean, no thank you, I can find my way back fine." she amended. Anya almost ran to get away from them before Draco changes his mind and walk her back himself. She muttered angrily during the long walk back. Now, she was beginning to get a glimpse of what the other houses must think of Slytherins. They were the biggest pricks alive! She has never been in the receiving end of their wickedness, being a Slytherin herself. But now she understood why the fourth year Ravenclaw girls in Herbology were snotty to her for no apparent reason. With people like Draco, Letitia and many others giving Slytherins a bad name, who could blame them? Admittedly, even Paulina and Ingrid, who were her closest friends, were no angels. Now that she thought about it, neither was she.  
  
"Oi, Anya!" someone called from behind.  
  
She was sure it wasn't Draco, Crabbe or Goyle so she turned around with out fear. She waved her hand and smiled at Fred and George. They were helping their chaser whose nose was bleeding like crazy. She slowed down so she could walk with them.  
  
"Those mates of yours are such scum!" Fred told her angrily.  
  
Anya opened her mouth to argue that they weren't her mates, but she quickly bit her lip and gave up.  
  
"How can you stand being in the same house as them?" George added, almost accusingly.  
  
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm also a Slytherin." Anya said. "We're only horrible to those from other houses, never to each other." She suddenly remembered how Letitia treats her. "Except for some."  
  
"How come you're not like them, then?" asked Fred.  
  
Anya smiled a pleased smile and pulled out a hanky from her pocket. "Here, you look like you could use this." She handed her hanky to the chaser she knows goes by the name of Katie Spinnet, to mop up her bleeding nose. The sleeve of her robe, which she was using, was already soaked in blood.  
  
Katie glanced at Fred and George apprehensively, and only when they nodded at her did she take the hanky from Anya and mumbled her thanks.  
  
"Better yet, I can plug it up." Anya pulled out her wand from her cardigan pocket. "It's a simple spell but it will only stop the bleeding for about five minutes, just enough time to get to the hospital wing without losing all your blood."  
  
Katie jumped back in fright. "Are you crazy! I'm not going to allow a Slytherin to curse my nose off just like that!"  
  
Anya's brow furrowed, she genuinely looked and felt hurt at her accusation. She calmly pocketed her wand without another word. After what Draco and his company did to them during their practice, why in the world would she trust her?  
  
George gripped Katie's shoulders. "She's cool, Katie. Just try her will you, while you still have blood to lose."  
  
Katie looked at George for a while, making sure he was serious. She wrung Anya's hanky, now also dripping with her blood. "Okay then, what's the spell you're telling us?" she told Anya softly.  
  
Anya got her wand out again and muttered the incantation, pointing the tip of her wand to the tip of Katie's bloody nose. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.  
  
Katie smiled gratefully. "Thanks!" she gushed, sounding genuinely surprised.  
  
Fred and George winked at her and then to each other glad that they were right to trust Anya. When they got to the entrance they all said their goodbyes as Anya walked back to her dormitory while they went to the hospital wing. 


End file.
